Tregger, Yan: Space Oddities LP

As soon as the pilots of the Space Oddities endeavor decided to tackle Yan Tregger's oeuvre, a major problem surfaced: where to begin? And where to end? Upon which side should one launch into the ascension of this body of work? It will have taken Alexis Le-Tan and Jess years to put up this selection, capturing the profusion and eclecticism of Tregger who, at 81 years old, has yet to lay down the arms and still defines himself as a "jack of all trades". Symphonies, library music, movie soundtracks, TV credits, advertisement, French variété, pop, disco, electronic, experimental, or relaxation music, Yan Tregger (born Edouard Scotto di Suoccio) took up all genres, styles, and formats through a career spanning from the end of the '50s to this day. How the Stakhanovist successfully went down so many different routes can be explained by his innate talent for composing melodies; they are the very basis on which his iconoclastic production was built. Ten years ago already, Yan Tregger had welcomed Born Bad in the studio of his Parisian suburb pavilion. There, sat in front of his machines and albums framed on the wall, he had delved into the midst of a life writing itself like would a rather unusual musical score. "I was born in Algeria in 1940, in a coastal town -- Algeria's Nice, Philippeville, (today Skikda -- author's note), to parents of Italian descent. People were unhappy in Italy and did as migrants do today. Still, there was some tendering. When France started colonizing Algeria, the government brought in people to constitute a work force: many Italians, but also some Maltese and Jews who were already established there. My father managed a balancelle, a dinghy which would deliver materials along the coast. My mother was a housewife, just like any Italian back then. I am an only child."